UNIFIL Says No Sign of Activity of Terrorist Groups in South

The commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon has said there were no signs on the presence of terrorist groups south of the Litani River.

“In the area south of the Litani River all the way to the Blue Line there is no sign on the presence of extremist or terrorist groups that would put the stability of south Lebanon in danger,” said Maj. Gen. Luciano Portolano.

The UNIFIL commander told An Nahar newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday that peacekeepers do not monitor the activities of Palestinian refugee camps.

“According to the information we have received so far there are no sleeper cells that could impact stability in our area of operations,” he said in response to a question on the terrorist networks.

Asked whether he had fears that some infiltrations by Syrians in the area of Shebaa would facilitate the entry of jihadists to Lebanon from the South, Portolano said: “At the moment, I don't have any sign that what's happening in the North could be repeated in the South.”

Jihadists from al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State group overran the northeastern town of Arsal in August and engaged in heavy clashes with the Lebanese army. The militants took with them hostages from the military and police and executed four of them.

Several cases of infiltrations by Syrians have been reported through the southern border town of Shebaa in the past months.

In accordance with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which imposed a ceasefire south of the Litani River after the 2006 war between Hizbullah and Israel, UNIFIL and the Lebanese army take measures to ensure that the area between the river and the Blue Line is free of any armed personnel and weapons.

Portolano told An Nahar that UNIFIL has so far not received any evidence on the illegal transfer of weapons in its area of operations.

However, there have been cases of rocket attacks on Israel, which reveal that there are unauthorized weapons in that area, he said.

“That's why UNIFIL remains focused in its mission along with the Lebanese army,” he added.

Asked whether there was evidence that Hizbullah possessed weapons in southern Lebanon, Portolano said: “We don't have evidence on the presence of arms for any side and not just Hizbullah.”

He also denied that UNIFIL had received information on the activity of Iranian soldiers on the southern border with Israel.